When Justin Gates, event director for the Army JROTC National Drill Classic, heard that congressional budget cuts would affect the funding of the annual drill event, he made a decision. He would continue to hold the event--without a sponsor--because, "We are the people that these kids count on, and this event is important to them."
Thousands of high school students travel to Louisville, Ky., each year to compete in the Army's JROTC drill event which is designed to test the skills of the district champions. Winners then advance to the national level where all-service JROTC drill teams compete against each other.
"Drill has been the primary and most visible special-unit within the program since JROTC began," Gates explained. "It instills so many skills that are lifetime learning lessons. Thousands of Cadets who graduate the program credit their work on the drill team with their success they maintain later in life be it civilian, military or other related fields."
Such skills include concentration, teamwork, discipline, confidence and overcoming fear of performing in front of peers, Gates added.
However, budget cuts put the event in jeopardy this year because U.S. Army Cadet Command no longer had funding to sponsor many of the events it had previously hosted. So Gates decided, with command support, this year if a team could raise the money and get to the event he would accept its entry.
Gates added that students who participate in JROTC have dedicated themselves to something that takes huge sacrifice, dedication and willingness to become a part of something larger than themselves and he said he couldn't allow that effort to die or waste away.
"If we let that go, we may lose these kids (to non-productive pastimes) and we will certainly lose these programs forever. This nation needs JROTC and its extra-curricular activities because Cadets learn more than they ever could in the classroom. That formula is important because these events provide the springboard for the excellent leaders who will carry this nation forward in the decades to come. This is what JROTC really produces."
And Gates works with many schools and Cadets who can make his point.
Dennis Muentes, a JROTC Cadet from Xavier High School in New York, said that after his last class each day he went home to the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx, a neighborhood best known for prostitution, gang warfare, and drug trafficking. It would have been too easy for him to become one of the neighborhood statistics.
"But Xavier High School's drill team provided me an escape from all of these social issues," he explained. "I met (people) that I will remember for life. I have met some of the most disciplined men at Xavier in the drill team and this is (an example) to what the JROTC program can mold young men into."
Muentes also said the leadership traits and values that he learned will help him as he transitions into college.
"Through the help of the JROTC program, I earned a full scholarship (merit based through academics) to my top college, Providence College. I am forever grateful for what this program has done for me ..."
But personal pride and achievements are only parts of what Gates sees in the JROTC students who attend his events. He said an understanding of their communities is also an educational factor that JROTC Cadets gain from the program--something with which retired Lt. Col. John Wargo, the senior Army instructor at Hubbard High School in Chicago, agrees.
To put his point into perspective, Wargo said there are more than 35 Army JROTC programs in the Chicago school system and the JROTC programs are considered integral parts of the education and personal development of the over 10,000 students enrolled in them.
"Students in the Chicago Public School system are required to finish 40 hours of community service prior to graduation," he explained. "The JROTC program conducts numerous service activities including running the annual blood drive, being the major contributor to the holiday food locker drive, letters to the military, shoveling snow for elderly community residents, and other activities.
Wargo added that students in the International baccalaureate school program require 150 hours of creativity, action, and service to receive their special diploma. The Cadets involved in that program regularly achieve this, and more, due to the number of activities the Hubbard JROTC operates.
However, due to funding shortages, Wargo said Cadets have had to find ways to raise money to participate in events. In fact, Hubbard High faculty and staff understand the significance of JROTC and the drill competitions to the degree they have sponsored the Cadets, "for the full amount of both national level competitions to amount of over $5,000 for the trips."
"These experiences have taught the Cadets that one person can make a difference; that adults will support them when they have proven their worth, and that hard work and excellent effort is rewarded," Wargo explained.
The skills and personal growth that Cadets master today are ones they will rely on as adults tomorrow. Gates said such education comes through programs like JROTC, and he is determined to continue with events that showcase such young leaders.
"These are the programs that our countries future leaders come from," he said. "It is important that these students have the chance to learn these lessons, and see that hard work is respected and rewarded."
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